from what I have experienced, desktop2 is not as fast as the traditional chui interface. so you can't expect much from desktop2 in terms of speed and performance.
here is a document published by QAD about performence.
hope it helps,
Haim
Definitions:
User - a person who will actually use QAD Desktop2 (excluding char-only users)
Server - the hardware layer on which the QAD Desktop2 software resides
Summary:
The following is a brief guide to hardware recommendations for implementation of QAD Desktop 2. It is QAD’s belief that the way to achieve optimal performance for Desktop is to install all of the Desktop components (WebServer / Application Server / Character Code) on a separate machine from the MFG/PRO Database. This will provide multiple benefits to an existing system. First, it will provide a level of security not currently available by removing all client access from the Database server. Second, this is a cost savings as it will off-load processing from the Database server, thereby extending the life of the machine. Third, it will provide a layer of redundancy, if the Application Server fails, the Database is still up and running, and can be accessed from a second Application Server. Fourth it will provide modular scalability for adding or shifting character users to QAD Desktop without major impact to the Database server. Fifth it can provide n+1 high availability by providing an extra, low cost, front end application server.
The following guide is targeted to the minimum requirements to achieve the optimal level of performance. The Operating System QAD recommends for running the Application Server is Linux.
Client requirement
The minimum client requirement should match the requirement or recommendation for the Windows Version (ie: Windows 2000, or XP) that is installed on that client. Additional CPU and RAM, over the minimum, will only enhance performance of the Desktop Client.
Supported Operating Systems (OS)
The following Operating Systems are supported for running the QAD Desktop 2 Application components:
Linux - (QAD's Recommended OS)
Solaris
AIX
HP-UX
Windows Server
Small MFG/PRO installation:
5-20 Users
QAD Desktop2 can be run on the same hardware as MFG/PRO
Caveats: Server must be on supported OS list for QAD Desktop2
for example: if the MFG/PRO server is OSF/1 we need to skip to "Medium" installation
Server should have at least 256MB RAM free for use for QAD Desktop2
Medium MFG/PRO installation:
20-60 Users
QAD Desktop2 should be run on separate machine than the MFG/PRO database.
QAD Desktop2 should be run on a single processor server with a minimum 512MB (1024MB recommended)
Server can be any of the supported OS (Linux recommended)
Large MFG/PRO installation:
60-120 Users
QAD Desktop2 should be run on separate machine than the MFG/PRO database.
QAD Desktop2 should be run on a dual processor server with a minimum 1.5GB (2GB recommended)
Server can be any of the supported OS (Linux recommended)
Enterprise/Global MFG/PRO installation:
120+ Users
QAD Desktop2 should be run on separate machine than the MFG/PRO database.
QAD Desktop2 should be run on a quad processor server with a minimum 4GB (more than 4GB recommended)
Server can be any of the supported OS (Linux recommended)
Network requirement
Early testing has shown that the average bandwidth requirement is approximately 10kb per user. However it is important to note that the QAD Desktop 2 client is for the most part "stateless" meaning that if there is no active transaction on behalf of a user there is no network bandwidth being consumed. As such, QAD Desktop 2 is very viable over a Wide Area Network (WAN). The network planner should plan to peak consumption of all users on a particular WAN link.
